Alexander Zverev suffered a heavy defeat to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Madrid Open, which lasted just under an hour.
But his comments after the Madrid Open final have come under the spotlight just as much as his disappointing performance on the court.
Zverev said after the defeat: “I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else. And I think there’s a big gap between [Carlos] Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak [Djokovic], and everybody else. I think there’s two gaps right now.”
It is a verdict that has now drawn fierce criticism from former player Rennae Stubbs, who cannot believe the German has compared himself to his Spanish ATP rival.
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Sharing her shock, she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “‘I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everyone else’.
“I mean he just kept saying that, but he lumps himself in there with Alcaraz. Bro, what? The delusion. And here’s the thing. If he had said this, my respect level for him would go up.
“If he said, ‘Look, bottom line is, I’m a really good player. I get to a lot of finals. I get to a lot of semis. I usually beat every player,’ – which is not the case, because who did he lose to the week before?
“Like, ‘I usually win X and Y matches, but the standard between Jannik and Carlos is clearly, as you can see by the points category, head and shoulders above me. I need to improve and figure out a way to even remotely push these two guys’.
“That I would be like, respect, right? But to lump himself in with Carlos Alcaraz, who has literally won every major title, all of them, all four, by the age of like 21 is insanity. Okay?
“And yet this guy, who has not even won a Grand Slam, is saying that he’s in that same category. Dude, what?
“Can I add, the final was so bad, and he looked like a petulant child. And I know apparently from what Jim Courier said, he didn’t think he was 100%.
“Whether he was injured or what was going on. But he looked like a petulant child who was in the sandbox and had thrown all his toys out and did not even think to dig his way out of anything. He tanked the last few games.”
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It is a scathing assessment of Zverev, who is currently ranked third on the ATP Tour behind Sinner and Alcaraz.
The Spaniard missed the Madrid Open through injury, with his wrist issue also ruling him out of the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
And Stubbs believes such a scenario could result in a stunning run of dominance from Sinner, who like Zverev now takes on Rome.
She said: “I mean, it’s really possible he might not lose. If Carlos Alcaraz is not playing, chances are Jannik might not lose a match this year.
“And looking at that final, he looked like he was playing, you know when you’re a really great player and you go and play juniors and you know no matter what, you know you’re not going to lose? That’s what he looks like.
“He has every shot in the book now, serve, volleys are great, his touch around the net, his forehand, his back, he moves, his mentality. The guy is unbelievable.
“The only person that’s going to beat him this year for the rest of the year is a guy that’s not playing right now, and that’s Carlos Alcaraz. Unbelievable.”
It would be quite the achievement from the Italian world number one, who now has a 30-2 record for 2026 after Madrid.
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